Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective : Defining, Understanding, and Combating Abuse

Helps students understand the complexities of defining, measuring, and preventing relationship abuse from a perspective that accurately reflects contemporary cultural diversity within the USA.

"The writing style is engaging and the stories are compelling. Rather than presenting facts and statistics, the authors invite the reader to actively participate in current debates in the family violence research. . . . Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective provides a new, interesting approach."

                                                   --Carolyn M. West, University of Washington, Tacoma

"A major achievement in compilation and review, beautifully written. . . .This book accomplishes a necessary and admirable goal of bringing a widely dispersed body of knowledge together."

                                                                 --Jean Giles-Sims, Texas Christian University

What is maltreatment? How do definitions, causes, consequences, and efforts to combat problems vary across the major ethnic groups within the United States? Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective: Defining, Understanding, and Combating Abuse provides a thought-provoking and informative discussion of cross-cultural issues in family violence in the United States.

The book focuses on family violence from four major ethnic populations of the United States: Native American Indian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian American. Authors Kathleen Malley-Morrison and Denise A. Hines examine violence in these communities and take an ecological approach to its incidences, correlations, and consequences. The information and cases in Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective are organized within a cognitive-affective-ecological framework, allowing readers to consider the many causes of family violence. The book looks at the different types of family violence including child, spousal, and elder abuse and addresses the broader historical and environmental forces contributing to violence within different communities.

Features and Benefits:

• Real family case studies and "Personal Reflections" boxes from members of various ethnic communities covered in the book stimulate class discussion.
• Each chapter contains frequent mini-summaries of the material presented and "thought questions" that help readers reflect upon the difficult issues being addressed.
• The book includes tables summarizing research on the rate of family violence within major ethnic groups and key terms are highlighted within the text.
• Each chapter opens with provocative quotes or examples and closes with a summary section.

Family Violence in a Cultural Perspective is designed for undergraduate and graduate students taking family violence courses in Family Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, and Human Services. This book is also a vital resource for professionals and practitioners working with diverse client populations.